Customer Reviews

Buffalo Soldiers

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I first read this novel back in 1993, when I worked at a local Bookstore. I took Buffalo Soldiers home with me one night and once I opened it, I could not put it down. The subject matter is not very pretty, nor is it something that I would under normal circumstances read about. But the author has such a wonderful way of drawing you into this story. You find yourself outraged, disgusted, alarmed and even frightened. And you are enjoying every single minute of it!! Elwood is this century's best "anti-hero". A man with nothing: nothing to lose, nothing to hold onto, and nothing to live for. I mean, lets get real. Elwood is a drug dealing [scoundrel] who uses people to get what he needs at that moment. Yet, you find yourself rooting for him, hoping against hope that he will turn his life around, wanting more for him than he wants for himself. Elwood is someone that you would never want to be, yet by the end of this novel, you can't help but want to meet him. Elwood gives us hope that even the worst of people can change, or at least desire to change. I have been a book lover and collector since I was 12 years old, but this is the first author that I have EVER wanted to talk to and congratulate for writing a book that is one of the most beatiful that I have ever read. I tried, unsuccessfully, to contact him. I have read this book 6 times and am still amazed at the depth of it. Do not miss this one!!!

buffalo soldiers is one of those books that i can't imagine having never read. not quite recommended to me, by a mate, who said "it's not a pretty read", i immediately ordered myself a copy.

i sat me down, late late at night, so late that it by rights should have been called morning. the cold light of a winter morning peeked in between the curtains as i snuggled in bed, and began a dark journey into the seedy world of skag, kodak film cannisters, life in an army barracks in germany ... i couldn't put the book down, and found myself inexorably bearing down on the ending...

i could see it coming, who wouldn't? but it nonetheless kept me enthralled right up until the last line.

reading it, whether simply the book itself, or the time at which i read it, changed my outlook on everything. there was a certain charm, a degenerate affection i grew to feel for the anti-hero, and in feeling it, i just had to admire o'connor for his abilities.

as my mate says, it's not a pretty read, but it is a good read.

I first read this book five years ago, and enjoyed it immensely. Having read it again twice since, it was only the third time that it struck me as one of the finest novels about the absurdities of army life, perhaps only bettered by 'Catch 22' (Joseph Heller) and 'One to count cadence' (James Crumley). Like Heller, O'Connor seeks out all the intricacies of enlisted life, and the rawness of the book's content, coupled with the theme of drug abuse in the army make for an, at times, unsettling read. However, despite their obvious failings, one cannot help but like the characters in the book, nor fail to understand their obvious dissatisfaction with their lot in life. Elwood is the classic anti-hero, and you find yourself laughing out loud at some of his thoughts, remarks and deeds particularly at times when it seems inappropriate to do so. Indeed, that's where the beauty of this book lies. Ordinarily, the themes dealt with (drug abuse, disability, prostitution, racial tension) would be depressing enough to allow the reader to digest it only in small doses, but the scintillating dialogue, coupled with excellent scene-setting make for an exciting, rollercoaster ride that is nigh-on impossible to put down once begun. Much was made of the book's style, setting it in second-person perspective. The highest compliment I can pay it is that the only other novel I can recall that is written in this manner (Bright lights, big city by Jay McInerney) is totally outshone.

In short, buy this book, read it and love it. Then ask yourself why this guy hasn't written more!

Robert O'Connor was my English professor at the State University of New York at Oswego. I was his student when Buffalo Soldiers was released. I picked up a copy and I could not put it down. It was amazing to read this book when you know the man. As a teacher, he is straight as an arrow and proper, but this book is raw and exciting. He challenged us to think and create chaos and rhetoric in our writing. He wet my appetite to write as a teacher and even more so after reading his book. I still have the autographed copy on the bookshelf in my apartment in New York City. Do yourself a favor and read it, you won't be disappointed.

You aren't quite sure what to make of a book like this.

It's written in the second person. You like the second person; you think it's very underused. It helps you identify with the protagonist, and it reminds you of the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books you read a kid. Only in this adventure, all the options are bad--you get glimpses of a peaceful pleasant world, but you are drawn steadily away from it. And there is no way to get to a different ending.

How could it be otherwise, though? You are living life through the eyes of a soldier stationed in Germany who's dealing heroin to the arms of America and chasing after the First Sergeant's daughter. Such situations never end well, except in the ego-fevered imagination of the addict. Still, even though you know this will most likely end poorly, you feel the need to follow the protagonist's steady slide deeper and deeper into his self-made hell.

Occasionally you are distracted by the world the author has created. That world does not always feel honest. Or rather, the drug parts feel incredibly honest, and the army parts feel like a Hollywood version of honesty--the characters describe cooking and shooting heroin in a way that shows they know and love the craft, but their descriptions of army excercises feel cartoonish and overblown compared with the finely detailed grit of the junkie's life. And the book seems to be set in the late 80s, but the army it describes more resembles the army of the mid-70s, when heroin ran rampant.

But you end up really liking this book, in spite of these reservations. Realistic and multidimensional characters are always more interesting than the occasionally phony scenery behind them. They don't do likeable things, but they are honest, and that makes them likeable in spite of themselves. In fact, you start liking them almost as much as they dislike themselves. What more can you ask for?

You are given this book by a friend who tells you it is the best thing they've read in years. You regard them as a good judge of the sort of things you like, so you take their copy and resolve to make an effort to like it. But you don't have to make an effort. From the first paragraph it has you hooked. You are on a steep learning curve, finding out more than you will ever need to know about the US army in Germany, heroin dealing, beautiful one-armed jailbait, Moments of Perfect Clarity, and cold sweat in the back of black Mercedes. You also find yourself laughing out loud, re-reading paragraphs in horror, and, eventually, lending your copy of Buffalo Soldiers to your best friend. It has the realistic ring of Michael Herr's 'Dispatches', and the pace and cold stare of a Sam Fuller movie; in fact, you will wonder why it hasn't been filmed yet. After you have given two or three copies away, you will buy one more, and keep it to yourself. And then you will ask yourself, who is Robert O'Connor, and what else has he written? And then you will understand the joy of addiction, and the pain of withdrawal.

What I thought was going to be a harder more realistic SGT. Bilko, turned into a pool of waste and idiocy. I've seen the book compared to M*A*S*H, Catch-22, and From here to Eternity, but unlike the former novels, this story seemed thin in a way that it could only have been written by a civilian.

I was frustrated and depressed spending most of my time trying to get through the author's inane style. Writing about three conversations occurring simultaneously may sound like a great academic exercise but all I wanted to do was skip ahead to the next page. Also, Introducing us to supporting characters that, while having little to do with the story, [was] deranged, scum of the earth. With the author's choice of first person narrative the reader learns everything that happens only through the eyes of Specialist Elwood. This serves to lend the reader his sense of isolation and narrow thinking, but as Elwood I became frustrated by the things he missed and the judgments he made and found it extremely hard to believe that someone that dumb could have made it as far as he did.

The author spent much of the reader's time detailing the unnecessary intricacies of drug use and distribution, and leaving out much of the details of military life. Very early in the story, two or three pages are devoted to the technique of injecting heroin into a vein, but we never really know the rank of the "TOP" Sgt. Lee Character. Both details are inconsequential to the storyline, but the author's choice of where to place emphasis underlines his lack of understanding of military life. And this is where the book ultimately fails. I believed Elwood was a drug addict, dealer and chemist, but I didn't believe for one second that he was the United States Army.

When I picked up this book I had a good idea what I was getting, and for the most part I was right. Its fiction, but revolves around the concept of armies and how they aren't all glamorous. While I didn't expect facts and dates being that the book is fiction I felt the story did try to make it seem like this could be real.. and I wasn't really a fan of that.

The story itself is a solid writing and if fictional war concepts are your thing, this book is for you. I did notice a couple other reviewers saying the content was inaccurate, and not a good read for a solider, but being that its fiction i'm not 100% sure how that is even relevant. In this case I say read the synopsis, other reviews here on Amazon and decide if its the book for you.

To be honest, I had read this book years ago and really enjoyed it. I re-read it again and it all came back to me. This book eventually became a decent movie starring Joaquin Pheonix a few years ago, and the movie was actually a pretty good adaptation of this book. I served in the Army in Germany in the 80's and knew guys a little like Elwood, so this wasn't a story too far off from reality...although it does stretch the bounds of reality a bit. I enjoyed this book and the subsequent movie. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it...especially if you enjoy O'Connor's book. This is a book I'm glad to add to my collection, and I could see myself reading it yet again in a few more years.

I can only think of one other book told in second person narrative ("Bright Lights, Big City," by Jay McInerney, whose "critical" commentary of "Buffalo Soldiers" appears in the front of this book), and it's interesting how effectively this perspective lends itself to wry irony and outright comedy. O'Connor is a master of ironic understatement, and his narrator in this book possesses an engagingly cynical wit. The main protagonist ("you") is wholly likeable despite the fact that he's wholly unlikeable, and it's this kind of inherent anti-hero dichotomy that makes him such a compelling character with such a compelling story. I don't agree with the opinion that this is satire, because it doesn't appear to be satirizing anything. More, it's an exploration of the darker and more self-destructive aspects of a generally dark and self-destructive soul, while offering entirely believable glimpses into the unique culture of America's volunteer Army. It's a complete joy to read.